We're back!

I apologize for the lack of postings lately.  We've been busy around here.  Steven and I just returned from a little "babymoon" as some people like to call it.  Of course we didn't consider it anything other than a wonderful, relaxing vacation away from a certain little kiddo for a few days.

We hopped in the car on Tuesday morning after saying goodbye to little buddy at my parent's house, drove to Atlanta, hopped on a plane, flew to Miami, rented a car and drove to the Florida Keys.  Ahhhh, the Florida Keys...  I miss it already.  The water was turquoise blue. Just the way I like it.

I've always loved the drive through the Keys.  Gorgeous scenery of water and islands on both sides of the road greet you on the two hour trek.  Steven and I just enjoyed being together...not to mention loved having uninterrupted conversation. ;)
   We spent most of our time in Marathon, Key about an hour north of Key West.  We didn't have a big schedule planned due to me being pregnant but Steven did get to do some things he had hoped.  The first day he headed out on a boat with five other people and a Captain for a little deep sea fishing adventure.  He had a blast and is now looking forward to the day he can go again.

In fact he caught the biggest fish there.

Okay, just kidding.  Obviously. ;) 

Here's a real picture of a fish caught on Steven's trip.

We watched as the Captain perfectly filleted the prized collection.

I thought I would forgo this sea faring outing due to the fact that I get major sick sickness anyway...and with me being preggo it could only be worse I'm sure.  But I found my own form of relaxation and took a picture of myself before heading out for some much needed sun on that baby bump...

Don't worry.  I didn't scare anyone away in a two piece.  A long maternity tankini fit me just fine.

After the fishing adventure we ate a nice lunch of sub sandwiches before heading out to the beach.
Please, please, don't be jealous of our hotel (ahem, motel) accommodations and huge T.V. in the background...

From lunch we ventured to the beach for a little relaxation.  If you've ever been to the Keys you know they don't really have beaches here...besides the ones that are man made.  We were fortunate to be a mile or so from a nice little park beach and soon found ourselves soaking up the sunshine.

It didn't take long for me to feel a little uncomfortable.  We didn't have beach chairs...didn't really want to haul them on the flight with us...so a growing pregnant belly plus lying on sand didn't equal pure comfort. 

One of our most favorite things from the week was of course, the FOOD.  We love sea food and there is none fresher than at the beach.  We even went to a place where the chef agreed to cook Steven's deep sea fishing catch.  The fried snapper and blue marlin steak was cooked to perfection...

We even journeyed to Key West one afternoon where we just walked up and down Duval St. and ate some yummy seafood yet again.

We hit up Mallory Square at sunset, like every good tourist does, and watched a little street theatre before dinner.

Steven was even fortunate enough to be in the show! Ha!  They picked out four guys to help hold up this ladder and Steven was singled out amongst the crowd.  I was cracking up.

Well, I think that's it on the pictures.  I tried to get more pictures of just the two of us but every time I tried Steven would put a stop to it. ;)  He's not the biggest fan of pictures...  And honestly, we were too busy relaxing half the time to take out my camera anyway.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip and one we will look back on with very fond memories!  Thanks mom and dad (Coco and PopPop) for keeping Isaac for the week.  And thanks to my sister Katie for playing with him every chance she could get.  He still talks about how much fun he had. :)

And I promise not to let two weeks go by again without an update.

Two year stats and more baby pics

This guy had his two year appointment last week.

He told me he had fun and enjoyed getting his latest stats.

He weighed 30 pounds and 8 ounces (75%)

And was 34.5 inches in length (50%)

"It's okay Dadda that I'm average in height.  You can't be above average in EVERYTHING."

And now onto more pictures of sweet baby Alex just like I promised...

Now, off to get some things done before MY little baby wakes from his nap...

hmmm...what to do first....go eat a snack or work out. 

I think I'll eat a snack...

Snow and babies

We woke up one morning this week to find SNOW outside our door. I debated on taking out little buddy...maybe because I'm lazy or I just don't like the cold much.  I couldn't put my finger on it.  But alas I thought, no no, how often do we get snow in Alabama (granted this winter multiple times) and how often will he be two and get to play in the snow covered ground outside...?  well nuts, i thought.  i've made myself feel guilty.

So outside we went.

He didn't know what to think at first but I made sure to gallop, yes I said gallop, through the snow so that he could see how fun it was.

I couldn't find any gloves for the two of us that morning so no snowman making for this pair.  My hands were already like ice but I enjoyed watching him enjoy it.

The thing he found most amusing was to kick the snow off our bushes along the walkway.

He could have stayed out there much longer but mommy had to be the party pooper and persaude him back into the warm inside with snack.  I may or may not have given him a big chocolate cookie for persausion.

There's nothing like a cute pink runny nose after a play in the snow...and a stoic dog in the background.

And onto a totally different subject.  Here is a picture of me, mom, and my ever growing baby bump.  23 weeks to be exact.  I thought taking a picture of myself seemed a little akward so I decided to make a goofy face.  But now I just see that that looks akward..

 Don't you just love the toilet behind me...

And speaking of child bearing women, does anyone remember this girl?

Well, she had her baby yesterday!!!

Joseph Alexander Oliver (Alex)

One word...PRECIOUS!!!! 

I'll be posting more pictures of this little cutie very very soon...

These days

During these wintry months I'm often reminded of the Beauty and the Beast song "Be our Guest"...you know that one line where the candlestick sings, "Most days we just lay around the castle, flabby, fat, and lazy..."  or maybe you don't know.  But I remember, being the disney princess movie kid watcher that I was.  It does seem like we just lay around most days because let's face it, it's just too chilly, rainy, and muggy to go outside.  And I realize things could be far worse.  Like we could live in Chicago or somewhere up north where it's MUCH colder. But, atleast we would have snow, right?  However, I'd probably be changing my tune if I had snow all the time.

So, what have we been doing these wintry days you ask?  Oh, thanks for asking by the way...

Well, we've been doing some TV watching.  (when I'm feeling guilty about the television I remind myself that come spring and summer we will be watching no TV..just being outside!!)

Little buddy continues to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...or as he calls it "ott dog"

We find ourselves laughing a lot during the day.  And trust me, this kiddo keeps me laughin'.

We've done some block building recently.  Funny thing is, I find myself building something and feeling very protective over my precious tower that I won't let him near it.  I've had to get over that... :)

He soon shows me that knocking down mommy's creation is far more fun than looking at it.

These days we usually break for lunch around 11:30. 

There's nothing like licking hummus off a wheat thin.  mmmm.

Nap time of course comes in the early afternoon.  Little buddy still sleeps with a paci and his precious bunny.  As you can see, bunny's foot is quite knarled these days. But he doesn't mind...he considers himself very "holy."

Once nap time is over and we crawl our way into the dark evening hours this little boy gets a second wind.  Usually running from kitchen to front door 10 to 20 times back and forth, back and forth.



Playing with Major is always a necessity during the mid-evening runs



At night (when Daddy is actually home) we sometimes read books on the couch before bedtime or in his room.

And pose with a perfectly good smile for mommy's camera.

But then start pointing at mommy and calling her all sorts of silly names...

Oh yes, how could I forget.  We are also perfecting our sad face these days.  This is the "I'm about to cry but I'm really not going to cry because I'm just faking it" look.

But of course there's also times when he doesn't fake it.  Here he is when I told him that we still have a month or two to go for warm weather....

I know buddy, I know.  But these days we can just learn to enjoy...until those days come around.